Success Follows Personal Development

I’ve got an encouraging story for you today from Erik at The Mastermind Within. Life is all about growing and developing. The goals we set for ourselves, won’t happen overnight, nor will they happen on their own, but if we invest in ourselves and the future we want, we are sure to accomplish amazing things. This is Erik’s story on investing in himself:

Developing Personal Wealth

Growing up, my mom stayed at home while my dad worked. He successfully climbed the corporate ladder in his 20’s and 30’s before pivoting into running his own business. His transition to entrepreneurship worked and he now owns a few companies. My dad found a way to build wealth, allowing our family to live a stress-free life. And that’s exactly what I want to do as well - build wealth for a better future.

While I was finishing up by degree in Mathematics, I created a goal for myself - to become wealthy by the time I was 30. I didn’t have a solid number in mind, but one million dollars was definitely a milestone I wanted to hit.

Going into my first job, I had a small student loan balance of $10,000 and about $2,000 in cash. I had a net worth of -$8,000 and a job paying me $63,000.

With a solid income and being naturally frugal (cheap), I felt equipped to crush my debt and start my path to financial freedom. Next, I wanted to learn strategies for building wealth. I started reading books about successful leaders and business people. I worked on my communications skills and started seeking mentors. Each day, I took action and made time to work on my personal development so that I could learn to be financially successful.

My first step in creating wealth was buying a house the day before my 23rd birthday. I took on three roommates who pay rent each month. This covers about 90% of my mortgage! Then, I added side hustle income streams. I started my blog in 2016, started another business in 2017, and took on statistical consulting for $85/hr. I’ve also increased my salary to $91,000 at work as a statistician and programmer.

It hasn’t all been easy and I’ve experienced failures along the way. I’ve been blogging for 16 months now and have only made $300. My business endeavor is in the red by $10,000.

Even with those failures, my net worth is approaching $175,000. The funny thing about personal growth is that it is more than one dimensional. Focusing on communication impacts all areas of your life. Learning about wealth building tactics can have an effect on your career trajectory as many people are not forward thinking - a trait managers look for in high potential employees. All of these reasons and more is why I believe in improvement for myself.

Developing More Than Personal Wealth

Wealth is not just a number on a computer screen. It can take any shape/ form and is very personal.

While I’m working hard on growing my financial wealth, I’m also figuring out what wealth means to me overall.

I’m also prioritizing other things in my life - family, relationships, and health. I’ve found that what matters most is the company I keep, the knowledge I’ve accumulated, and the people I can help with the knowledge I’ve attained.

I’ve also realized that I need to figure out what I truly enjoy doing. If I’m not enjoying my work, it won’t matter how much money I’ve made.

While my degree is in Math, I’ve found I have a programming mind that loves automating processes, connecting the dots between data sources, and designing interactive user interface.

As I look to my future, my hope is to move into entrepreneurship full time. In order to make this a reality, I’m taking action, using some of my free time to learn React JS. This will allow me to follow my calling as a web designer and developer. I know that if I keep taking time each day to invest in my personal development that I’ll find the success I envision.

My favorite quote:

Your level of success will rarely exceed your level of personal development, because success is something you attract by the person you become.Jim Rohn

Invest In Your Personal Development

People tend to underestimate how much they can accomplish in a year, but overestimate what they can accomplish in a day. Everyone has 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week, 720 hours in month, and 8,760 hours in a year.

One of my goals was to start a blog. In the past year, I’ve written over 150,000 words across 200+ posts. Could I have done this in a day? No. What about a week? Nope. But in a year? Well, I did it, so yes.

What do you want to achieve? How many hours do you think it will take for you to accomplish your goal in a year? Three years, five years? Think about this - in five years you’ll be on this Earth for 43,800 hours.

If you need to invest 100 hours in your idea, spending five hours today and then not picking it up for two months isn’t going to get you towards your goal. Instead, invest a hour a day over the next 100 days and you’ll reach your goal. Or spend half an hour over 200 days. Investing consistent time on your personal development will get you to where you want to go.

I encourage you to take action today. Sit down for 30 minutes, put away your phone, and focus on taking a step on your idea.

If you feel like you don’t have enough time, I’m sure there are ways to adjust your lifestyle to make room for your goals. I cut cable and made time for reading. I stopped going to the bar each weekend, coming home at 2 AM, and waking up hungover. Instead, I started going to bed at a reasonable hour, walking up at 8 AM or earlier on Saturdays to hustle.

I know I can be successful. You can too! Set your mind on investing in bettering yourself. Things don’t always come as fast as you’d like, but over time, success will come. As you grow, turn that knowledge into action and you can find the success you’re looking for.

Thank you to Erik for sharing his story. We love that he house hacked and continues to invest not only in his financial success, but holistically in his personal and professional life. We wish him the best and can’t wait to see where he’s at in 5 years when he turns 30!

We're not certified financial planners or otherwise financial experts; this blog contains information and entertainment (if you can call it that). We can't promise that Chris didn't make a typo in his math or that what's represented in these articles is appropriate for you or anyone else. Proceed with caution and a sense of humor :)